


Mixed Messages

by zabchan



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Banter, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Implied Size kink?, Light Tsundere, Mutual Pining, if you really wanna go there, light teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 14:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9185288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zabchan/pseuds/zabchan
Summary: Those who tease must be prepared to take what's dished out.





	

On the Island of New Motonui, nearly a year since the last visit and nearly 4 years since her people first stepped foot on the bountiful second paradise, Chief-to-be Moana stands on the shoreline nudging the great hero Maui in the ribs and laughing. His boat, a present from the village deep in the curving arms of the twin peaks that compose the majority of the island, is pulled high on the beach, nearly to the treeline. Surrounding the craft are a scurry of footprints and dropped baskets once filled with teeth, pearls and fish; assorted souvenirs & gifts from the imposing figure now being harassed. The scene suggests an abandoned attempt to haul the baskets towards the village path, but their bearer having suffered a great shock upon disembarking. For now the items are abandoned, possibly for later collection once their owner can stop pouting and insisting it wasn't the beautiful chiefess that made him overturn the baskets oh no. And certainly not because he’d been distracted by her new outfit. Not that he’d noticed. Was she even wearing a new outfit? Pfft. 

“Ohhh I see what's happening,” Moana crossed her arms and cocked a hip at him. “Youuu like me.” 

“Whaaat?!”

“You come back and you see maybe little Moana’s not so little any more, huh?” Moana mock-accused, warming up to her subject. Maui was just so fun to tease, she couldn't help herself. His reactions were always priceless.

“As if!” he sputtered, folding his arms and turning his back. She held back a giggle. 

“I know it must be a lot to take in, after so many months at sea,” she said, sashaying up to him with a sly smile. She tossed back her long curly tresses to cascade in long waves down her back, past her waist and shiny with coconut oil. “The hair-”

She danced around to Maui’s front, forcing eye contact as she swayed her hips. “-the bod.” 

Moana deliberately bumped him with her butt, startling him out of his closed-off posture. Drawing her hands up her body, she swayed to some imaginary beat, tracing her curves and ending in a luxurious stretch that she knew showed off all the assets she’d developed over the last few years. 

“But try not to let it distract you too much,” she concluded with a wink. 

Ok, maybe she’d been a little more forward there than she intended, but the look of Maui’s face was worth it. He was red and flustered but clearly trying (and failing) to resist repeated glazes at the assets she was so unfairly flaunting. 

“I-I guess I might admit maybe SOME guys might be into that,” he stammered, trying to dismiss her boasting, “but me? No way. To me you’re still some skinny little twerp, beggin me to take you on a boat trip.” 

“Uh huh.” Moana tossed her head, putting her hands defiantly on her hips. “Sure. If you say so.”

“Seriously, kid, you're not my type.” Maui pretended to suddenly be preoccupied with cleaning some dirt under his fingernails and couldn't meet her eye.

Moana pursed her lips. Maybe this was getting into dangerous territory but…

“Uh huh, so, what IS ‘your type’?” 

Maui hesitated for only a second or two before responding. “You're way too skinny for me.” 

“Whaat?!” 

“Oh yeah. I'm sure youre the village beauty or whatever on your dinky island but as for me? You need to gain, like, at least fifty pounds before I even think about dating you.”

“Fifty pounds?!” Moana blurted, taken aback. Maui smirked. 

“Oh yeaaah. I mean, a hundred would be better, but I’m not sure you're built for that kind of abundance.” He made a gesture like weighing two enormous coconuts at chest level. “And more around here,” he said, miming a big curve around Moana’s midsection. He winked. 

“Maui likes having a little something to hold onto, if you ‘catch my drift’.” 

Now it was Moana’s turn to flush red. 

“You-!”

“Hey now, nothing personal. Like I said, I'm sure some human dork will come along who likes, you know,” he gestured to all 5 feet 5 inches of sputtering Moana, “all that. As for me, I need a woman who’s sturdy enough to handle All This.” He flexed, kissing one bulging bicep. 

“Ugh! Whatever!” Moana said, flinging her hands into the air and turning to stomp down the beach.

“Better you know now and not get your hopes up!” he called after. 

When she was halfway down the beach he suddenly changed his mind and ran after her.  
“Hey! cmon, I was kidding! We were just jokin’ around right? You can't be mad at me, I’m Maui!” 

Moana couldn’t help but grin, just as Maui caught up. Immediately she tried to resume an air of righteous indignation, but the smile kept tugging at the corner of her mouth. 

“I saw that!” Maui crowed. Moana gave up hiding her mirth and let the smile bloom across her face like a hibiscus in spring. Maui visibly relaxed, returning the smile with a cocky grin of his own. 

Moana slowed her pace and they fell back in step up the path back to the village. The sun was beginning to set and already Moana could hear the familiar sounds of preparation for the evening meal. 

“I promise I wasn't trying to insult you, it's just a matter of personal taste. No hard feelings, right?” Maui nudged her gently, a smile on his lips but a slight crease of worry on his forehead. “We still good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Moana nudged him back playfully. “My fault for bringing it up.”

“Hey, you were just fishing for compliments, I totally get that. Happens to the best of us.” 

“Even you?” she teased.

He laughed. “I dont need to go fishing for compliments, they swim right up to me.”

Moana rolled her eyes but let him have the final word. It was enough that he’d gotten her back in a good mood, she didn't want to pursue the subject further.

They walked in silence for a moment, navigating the steep path. when the land leveled out the village lay before them, visible through the coconut groves with tiny fires springing up like stars in the valley. 

They stopped a minute at the crest of the hill to admire the view and feel the warm salty breeze at their backs. As each turned to brush the hair from their faces, their eyes met. Time seemed frozen; a perfect moment in a verdant green paradise. Birds sang, color blazed in the sky above, and the light off the sea twinkled in Moana’s large brown eyes.

The light of the setting sun was at Maui’s back, highlighting his muscular silhouette and catching golden-auburn highlights in his wild dark hair. (If Moana had known what a lion was, the comparison would have been unavoidable.) As it was, he was like no beast she’d ever known, except maybe the bull seals she’d seen far out beyond the reef. Power and muscle and swagger, king of the wave & rock, whose every movement was a roar of defiance. And yes, sometimes they might look ridiculous swaggering around their beach and muscling everyone around, but they had a grace and nobility and presence it was impossible not to admire. Maui had ten times as much swagger as any of them, but with a big, generous heart to go with it.

Moana blushed at these thoughts and looked away, breaking the spell. Maui realised his hand was stretched out towards her without his knowing it, as if to touch her. He stared at it, then back at Moana, who was studying her feet.

_Screw it_ he thought suddenly. 

He stepped closer and threw his arm around her shoulders, facing them both towards the village and starting to walk. 

Moana felt a brief moment of panic but gradually relaxed under the comforting weight of his muscled forearm. Her face was still hot from the sun and maybe from other things, but she found the courage to return his gesture, sliding her own around around his patterned waist. 

Maui stiffened for a fraction of a second but quickly recovered enough to give her the smallest of squeezes in response. 

The rest of the way back they were silent but in Moana’s head her heart was pounding. She spent the majority of the time fighting the urge to rest her head on his shoulder, which was tantalisingly close and just at cheek level, ever since she’d come onto her full height as an adult. As a kid she’d have ended up in his armpit. 

When they reached the last row of huts before the big campfire, Moana pulled her arm back with slow reluctance, glancing up at Maui but looking away quickly when he met her eye. His arm wasn't long in following, though he did give her another squeeze before withdrawing completely. She looked up into his face and found herself completely held captive by the look of tenderness there. And she didn't seem able to keep her gaze from constantly landing on his lips, quirked upward in a crooked smile. 

Maui lifted a hand and brushed a stray hair from her face, lingering on her cheek. He kept it there for a beat, fingertips curving lightly around her jaw, thumb hovering at her temple. 

Moana found herself leaning into his touch with a slow exhale, eyes closing.

She felt a shadow pass over her and a sudden influx of warmth. Her eyes snapped open to a sea of silky curls spilling over Maui’s broad shoulders, a flash of amber brown eyes in her peripheral vision. A press of warm, soft lips on her opposite cheek makes her eyelids flutter closed again, trying to savor every millisecond of contact. 

In a flash it was over. Maui was back to himself, hand and lips withdrawn and little evidence the kiss had ever happened remained save for the jangle of his necklace-teeth and a growing rosy bloom across his cheeks. He smiled sheepishly, not quite meeting her gaze. 

Moana let out the breath she’d been holding, and tried very hard not to make it a sigh. 

Maui’s smile twitched, and suddenly his massive paw was patting her hard on the top of her head. 

“Hey!” she cried, battling at him playfully; the spell of the moment once again broken. He rubbed his knuckles on her scalp, mussing her wild curls even more. 

“C’mon, skinny, let's go see if we can fatten you up a little.” He gave her shoulder a nudge. “I saw your dad pull a huge tuna from the sea today, I’m looking forward to some E’ia Ota.”

He pulled her along chuckling into the light of the roaring campfire. He released her to go boisterously announcing his triumphant return and soliciting praise, preferably in the form of consumables. On cue, the village children ran to greet the demigod, shouting requests for their favorite stories and shapeshifts. The women at the cook fires were already ladling heaps of coconut rice and chopped raw fish onto banana leaves. 

Moana smiled after him, shaking her head at his antics. Almost without her knowing it, her fingers were on her cheek, imagining they could still feel the lingering warmth from Maui’s kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> My first published Moana fic! How did a throw away comment on tumblr turn into 1700 words goodness me. I'm so much more used to drawing fanart and letting that cover a thousand words for me. I really hope I captured their unique banter, because their witty back and forth is what made me want to ship them in the first place. Special thanks to my tumblr pals for their commentary and support. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a comment!


End file.
